Brazil police detain 27 more in Petrobras-linked probe

RIO DE JANEIRO Nov 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police
were serving 27 additional arrest warrants on Friday in a broad
money-laundering investigation that has ensnared a former senior
executive at oil firm Petrobras, causing it to delay releasing
its results.

The police said in a statement 300 officers were involved in
the operation in five different states and the capital district.
Several warrants were being served at "large companies," the
statement said, without identifying companies' names or the
individuals targeted.

The move comes a day after Petroleo Brasileiro SA
, as the state-run oil company is formally known,
delayed the release of its third quarter earnings report, saying
it needed time to investigate allegations of corruption.

The money-laundering probe, known as "Operation Car Wash,"
was first launched in March as police investigated an alleged
money laundering scheme involving Petrobras.

The continuing fallout of the scandal has put pressure on
leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who won a narrow re-election
last month.

A former Petrobras executive jailed in the case has said in
a plea bargain deal that kickbacks from contracts were funneled
to Rousseff's Worker's Party and its allies in Congress.
(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi, writing by Stephen Eisenhammer;
Editing by Brian Winter and Bernadette Baum)